Inventory Optimization 

To manage your inventory, you constantly have to juggle different data streams with difficulty… which almost becomes a guessing game. 

Effective inventory management is a key element in the industrial maintenance work management process. When we reserve and consume spare parts, it becomes crucial to optimize our inventory according to the consumption of these parts. To do this, it’s essential to carry out a parts criticality ranking, a method slightly different from that used for assets.

1. Parts Criticality Ranking: Key Criteria

To establish this ranking, several criteria must be taken into account:

• Lead Time: The longer it takes to deliver a part, the higher its criticality. A long lead time can lead to prolonged downtime if the part is not immediately available.
• Part cost: Cost is also a determining factor. More expensive parts may warrant special attention in terms of inventory management.
• Impact on production: It is crucial to assess the impact of a part failure on production. If a failed part can lead to a complete shutdown or a significant reduction in production, its criticality will be high.
• Detectability of Failure Modes: The ability to detect impending part failure is another important criterion. For example, some electrical components show no warning before they fail. In such cases, it is imperative to maintain sufficient stock to enable rapid repair in the event of failure. 

2. Defining Criticality-Based Service Levels

Once the criticality ranking of parts has been established, the next step is to define service levels. Service levels represent the probability of having a part in stock when it is needed. For the most critical parts, a service level close to 99.999% is recommended, almost always guaranteeing the availability of the part in stock.

 3. Optimizing Safety Stock and Minimum/Maximum Levels

Once the service levels have been defined, it’s time to optimize the safety stock and the minimum/maximum levels. These adjustments will harmonize the entire inventory according to actual consumption and criticality classification. The aim is to concentrate efforts on what matters most, ensuring the availability of critical parts while avoiding unnecessary overstocking.  

Conclusion

By applying these principles, you can reduce inventory costs and minimize the risk of production downtime due to critical parts failures. Optimized inventory management is therefore essential to keep production running smoothly and efficiently.